Bobby Doerr
Robert Pershing Doerr (April 7, 1918 – November 13, 2017) was a second baseman and coach in Major League Baseball who played his entire fourteen-year career with the Boston Red Sox from 1937 to 1951. He led American League (AL) second basemen in double plays five times, tying a league record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times each, and in assists three times. He held the major league record for career double plays at second base (1,507) until Nellie Fox surpassed his mark in , and his career fielding percentage (.980) was a major league record until Red Schoendienst passed him in ; Fox broke his AL mark in . Doerr also ended his career ranking fifth in career games (1,852), putouts (4,928) and total chances (10,852) at second base, and sixth in assists (5,710). He set Red Sox records for career games (1,865), at bats (7,093), hits (2,042), doubles (381), total bases (3,270) and runs batted in,Doerr ended his career in 1951 with 1,247 RBI, but had been passed earlier that year by Williams. all of which were later broken by his longtime teammate Ted Williams. His 223 home runs were then the third most by a major league second baseman, with his 1,247 RBI ranking fifth. Major league career Doerr was born the son of Harold Doerr, a telephone company supervisor, and his wife, the former Frances Herrnberger; his middle name was a tribute to General John J. Pershing, then the commander of U.S. military forces in World War I. He graduated from Fremont High School in 1935, after having already begun his professional career with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League in 1934. Doerr broke into the majors in at the age of 19 and went 3 for 5 in his first game. In he became a regular in a powerful Red Sox lineup that included Jimmie Foxx and Joe Cronin. Early in his career Doerr was often called upon to bunt and was so proficient at it that he led the league with 22 in 1938. In , Ted Williams' rookie season with the Sox, Doerr began a string of 12 consecutive seasons with 10 or more home runs and 73 or more runs batted in; in 1940 the Red Sox became the 12th team in major league history to have four players with 100 RBI, with Foxx, Williams, Cronin and Doerr each collecting at least 105. In 1944 Doerr led the league in slugging percentage. The same year, his .325 batting average was good enough to allow him to finish second in the league, two percentage points behind Lou Boudreau of the Cleveland Indians. He was named the AL's Most Valuable Player by The Sporting News, although he finished only seventh in voting for the AL MVP Award, being named on only 13 of 24 ballots and receiving nothing higher than a third-place vote. Doerr missed the 1945 season while serving in the Army during World War II, being stationed at Camp Roberts, California. Doerr was an offensive force for the Red Sox in as they won their first pennant since 1918, driving in 116 runs despite a .271 average, and finished third in the MVP vote (won by Williams). He hit .409 in the 1946 World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, with a home run and three runs batted in. Williams referred to Doerr as "the silent captain of the Red Sox." "The National Baseball Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2007-02-03. Doerr hit for the cycle twice in his career, on May 17, in a 12-8 loss to the St. Louis Browns in the second game of a doubleheader, and again on May 13, in a 19-6 win over the Chicago White Sox. In 1950 he led the league in triples with 11; on June 8 of that year, he hit three home runs in a 29-4 romp over the Browns. Regarded as one of the top defensive second basemen of his era, with observers divided between him and Joe Gordon of the rival New York Yankees, Doerr set an American League record in by handling 414 chances in a row over 73 games without an error. Doerr batted over .300 three times, with six seasons of at least 100 runs batted in. Never playing a game at a position other than second base, he retired at age 33 in September due to a back injury, having 8,028 plate appearances, 1,094 runs, 89 triples, 809 walks, 1,349 singles, 1,184 runs created, 693 extra base hits, 2,862 times on base, 115 sacrifice hits and nine All-Star Game selections. He had enjoyed tremendous success at Fenway Park, hitting .315 there with 145 home runs, compared to a .261 average and 78 HRs on the road. Doerr became a scout for the Red Sox from 1957 to 1966, then was the team's first base coach from 1967 to 1969, including the 1967 World Series loss to the Cardinals, Boston's first pennant since 1946. He later became hitting coach for the expansion Toronto Blue Jays from 1977 to 1981. Doerr was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. He has lived in Oregon since the late 1930s, residing in the vicinity of Agness for much of his career before relocating to Junction City in the 1950s. His jersey number 1 was retired by the Red Sox on May 21, . Since then, Doerr has lived a relatively quiet lifestyle at his Junction City home. He makes annual trips to the Hall of Fame induction at Cooperstown, New York, and when home, regularly fishes large game fish. Doerr married Monica Terpin on October 24 1938, and they had one son; the union lasted 65 years until she died at age 88 on December 17 2003 after suffering a number of strokes. He has carried on his quiet life since then. On July 29, , the Baseball Hall of Fame honored Doerr after the induction of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn into the Hall. On August 2, , the Red Sox held "Bobby Doerr Day" at Fenway Park where he rode along the warning track in a car, threw out the first pitch, and gave a speech. Upon the death of former New York Yankee Phil Rizzuto in August 2007, Doerr became the oldest living player in the Baseball Hall of Fame, although Lee MacPhail, a member for his contributions as an administrator, is older. Awards * Named AL Player of the Year by The Sporting News (1944) * Named second baseman on The Sporting News Major League All-Star Team (1944 and 1946) See also *Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame *List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters *List of major league players with 2,000 hits *List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs *List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI *List of Major League Baseball triples champions References External links * * *BaseballLibrary - profile, career highlights and SABR bibliography *Baseball in Wartime Category:1918 births Category:2017 deaths Category:Major league second basemen Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:American League All-Stars Category:Major league players from California Category:Baseball players who have hit for the cycle Category:Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Category:German-American sportspeople Category:United States Army soldiers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Curry County, Oregon Category:1941 American League All-Stars Category:1942 American League All-Stars Category:1943 American League All-Stars Category:1944 American League All-Stars Category:1946 American League All-Stars Category:1947 American League All-Stars Category:1948 American League All-Stars Category:1950 American League All-Stars Category:1951 American League All-Stars Category:Hall of Fame Category:Players